Page 433 of Cra$hmaker; Dominic Ancona and his campaign managers and regional operatives are discussing whether average Americans are able to figure out what’s best for them. One of the regional directors is skeptical and cynical, saying, “Most people base their political decisions on emotions and what they think are needs—all generated or manipulated by campaign advertising and managed news. Self-government’s usually an exercise in self-deception.”
However, Gregory Boston, one of Ancona’s managers, explains with absolute certainty how the campaign will presume average Americans can and will figure out what’s best for them. Dos Santos, another of Ancona’s leaders, explains the simple reasoning behind their message:
“Everyone wants economic security. Economic security depends on economic growth. And that depends on production, production on investment, and investment on savings. But government doesn’t produce, invest, or save—it only redistributes and wastes. So, to maximize economic welfare, America must minimize redistribution. Minimizing redistribution requires protecting private property and personal liberty. Liberty and property depend on restricting not just the government’s size, but also its ambit. And circumscribing that demands strict enforcement of the Constitution. So, specifically, we’ll focus on separating bank and state, repealing taxes that burden production, and otherwise freeing the market from Washington’s heavy hand. When everything comes into focus, people will see us as an all-American movement, because in the long run everyone except a tiny minority of elitists and their lackeys will benefit from the reforms we’re proposing.”
After this, Boston pulls out some t-shirts to give a graphic example of the tone of their campaign message: white t-shirts depicting black ants and green grasshoppers. “Ants versus grasshoppers—building for the future versus squandering the present.”
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